Dubai: South Africa opened their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup campaign with a thumping win over former champions West Indies at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The Proteas blew the Caribbean side away with a complete performance to send a signal to the other rivals in the tournament.
The Laura Wolvaardt-led side outplayed the Windies women in all three departments to clinch a lopsided Group B match by 10 wickets.
The Proteas women romped home to the 119-run target with 10 wickets and 13 balls to spare.
SA blow WI away
The 2023 runner-ups dominated the game right from the word go after skipper Wolvaardt sent West Indies into bat in hot conditions. Losing Hayley Matthews, the top-ranked all-rounder in the world, in the third came as a telling blow for the 2016 champions, who were unable to recover from the loss of their talismanic player.
Marizanne Kapp accounted for the dismissal of Matthews (10), who looked good during her brief 11-ball stay at the crease.
Left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba sent the other opener Qiana Josep (4) back to the pavillion in the fifth over to give SA the perfect start. Seasoned player Deandra Dottin showed some glimpses of brilliance before being dismissed by Kapp for 13 in the seventh over.
Shemaine Campbelle was the net batter to perish for 17 as WI kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Mlaba finished as the pick of the bowlers with superb figures of 4-0-29-4. Veteran batter Stafanie Taylor, who walked in at three, was the lone warrior with a top score of 44 as WI crawled to 118 for 6 in 20 overs.
In reply, SA openers Wolvaardt (59*) and Tazmin Brits (57*) carried their bats with a sensational unbeaten partnership of 119 to see their side home unscathed. It was skipper Wolvaardt who gave SA a quick start, hitting six boundaries in the powerplay to set the tone for what turned out to be an easy run-chase.
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SA-W vs WI-W: Proteas women side outplayed West Indies in all three departments to clinch a lopsided Group B match by 10 wickets. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
